


Nightmares

by killerweasel



Series: Those With Teeth Shall Bite [3]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-15 01:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki's sleep is haunted by nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

Title: Nightmares  
Fandom: _Avengers_  
Characters: Loki, Pepper Potts, Tony Stark  
Word Count: 1,207  
Rating: PG-13  
A/N: AU after the events of _The Avengers_  
Warnings: n/a  
Summary: Loki's sleep is haunted by nightmares.

 

Loki woke up screaming. He wrapped his arms around his chest while attempting to slow his heart rate down. The nightmare had been the same as the last three times. Instead of being rescued by the Enchantress, he was given over to S.H.I.E.L.D. to be experimented on. He staggered out of the bed, using the wall for support until he reached the bathroom. He’d barely made it to the toilet when he was violently ill, retching until his stomach cried out for mercy.

He sank back, resting his forehead against the cool tiles on the wall. “Jarvis, could you ask Stark to come here?”

“I’m sorry, but he was called away on Avengers business.” Loki cursed under his breath. “Ms. Potts is on her way to your location right now.”

Pepper was in the house? She must have arrived after he had gone to bed. Loki had quite a bit of respect for her. When they met for the first time, she’d waited until Stark had left the room before walking over to where Loki was sitting. He’d blinked in surprise when Pepper grabbed him by the front of his shirt. She said if he hurt Stark, she would personally cut his manhood off and make him eat it. The fire in her eyes let Loki know this was a promise, not a threat. She reminded him of Sif and her warrior women. 

Loki sat up when he heard footsteps approaching the bathroom. He managed a very small smile at Pepper as she came into the room. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“I had a late flight back from Japan.” She joined him on the floor. “Was it a nightmare? I could hear you screaming from the other end of the house.”

He silently took in her appearance. She was wearing one of Stark’s t-shirts and her hair was mussed. There were bags under her eyes. “Yes.” Loki sighed. “I apologize for waking you, Pepper. You can go back to bed. I’m fine.”

“I hadn’t been asleep for very long.” Pepper gave him a look. “You are not fine. Tony has nightmares like those from time to time. He’s not fine afterward either.”

“It took me longer to wake up this time. I kept telling myself it was a dream. I knew it wasn’t real, but I couldn’t make it stop.” Loki shuddered. “I’m not going to be able to sleep again tonight.”

She reached out and laid her hand on his bare shoulder. “What do you usually do with Tony when this happens? Jarvis told me you were asking for him.”

“Stark never asks about the nightmare. He tells me to take a shower and then meet him in front of the television. We watch a movie. Usually he falls asleep, but that’s okay because he’s still on the couch and I’m not alone.” Sometimes when Stark fell asleep, his head would end up on Loki’s shoulder. Loki had discovered he didn’t mind when that happened.

“That’s what we’ll do.” Pepper gave his shoulder a squeeze before she got to her feet. “You shower and I’ll go make us some hot chocolate. Then we’ll watch something. I can’t promise I’ll stay awake either.”

They ended up watching a zombie romantic comedy Pepper picked out. Loki found himself enjoying the film far more than he’d expected to. Pepper drifted off to sleep less than halfway through the movie. Loki had just finished covering her with a blanket when he heard Stark whisper his name from the doorway. 

There was a cut on Stark’s face and he limped into the room. He must have seen Loki’s look of concern because his lips curled up into a smile. “You should see the other guy.”

“Sit down. I’ll grab the medical supplies.” Stark started to protest and Loki glared at him. “Stark, we both know that if Pepper wakes and sees your wound, she will be upset. At least if it is cleaned and patched up, the impact will not be quite as great.” 

“Good point. Will it need stitches?” Stark held still as Loki inspected the gash. “Do you even know how to sew?”

“I can do simple stitches.” He brought his hands up and pressed the edges of the gash very carefully with his thumbs, making Stark curse under his breath. “Were it any deeper, I would want to stitch it closed. I’ll use bandages instead.” 

Loki went into the bathroom and grabbed the medical kit. When he came back, he found Stark sitting on the couch with his sore leg propped up on the coffee table. “What happened to your leg?”

“I hit a car when the Mole Man’s monster kicked me. Bruce looked it over, said it was just badly bruised.” Stark tugged the leg of his jeans up, revealing a very colorful set of bruises. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll get you an ice pack.” Shaking his head, Loki went into the kitchen and grabbed a couple ice packs from the freezer. He smacked them on the countertop to loosen the cooling material inside and then came back out to where Stark was sitting. The man’s eyes were closed and he didn’t stir until the cold ice packs came into contact with his leg. Loki stuck his hand over Stark’s mouth to keep him quiet. He didn’t let go until Stark motioned for him to do so.

Once Stark’s leg had been dealt with, Loki concentrated on the facial wound. He cleaned it as gently as he could. Stark hissed in pain a few times and ended up sticking his hand in his mouth to muffle further noise. Loki used a series of small bandages to close the gash. “There. That should take care of it for now, Stark.” 

Groaning, Stark collapsed back against the couch. “I am too tired to get up and go to bed.” He shifted just enough to let Loki sit on the couch between himself and Pepper. “I have been meaning to ask this. How come she’s Pepper, but I’m Stark? You’ve been here for almost a month, Loki. You could call me by my name.” The corners of his mouth twitched.

“I had been calling her Ms. Potts, but she said she heard enough of that at work, not to mention we were all living in the same place.” Loki fidgeted. “I didn’t know I would be here this long. Part of me keeps waiting for you to throw me out. Maybe that’s why I haven’t used your name, Tony.”

“Unless you do something horrible, I’m not throwing you out.” Tony reached out and gave Loki’s shoulder a little squeeze. “I don’t mind having you here and neither does Pepper.”

Tony grabbed the remote and pushed a couple buttons to continue the movie. Ten minutes later, he was fast asleep with his head on Loki’s shoulder. Loki glanced on his other side at the still slumbering Pepper. There was a little flutter of warmth in his chest as he finished the film. He turned everything off with the remote, removed the ice packs from Tony’s leg, and then leaned back against the couch. There was a smile on Loki’s face as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
